Faith Defiled (Gray Spear Society Book 14) (19 page)

"How the hell did you find me?" Marina hissed. "Hide!"

He hurried to her and crouched in the shadows. "I saw you get off the bridge. Then I just followed your footprints." He looked down the hill. "Who are those assholes? They certainly aren't real cops. Are they responsible for this mess?"

"You have to go."

"Not a chance. I'm in charge here. If anybody needs to go, it's you." Harp took out his phone and began to dial.

"You don't know what you're doing," Marina said urgently.

"If you interfere, I'll have you arrested. I'll probably do that anyway. Some prison time will teach you to follow the rules."

He began to speak into his phone. She lashed out with her fingernails and jabbed his neck. He tried to pull away but was too slow. A few seconds later, his eyes rolled back and he fell over.

"Is he asleep?" Yang said.

"No." Marina shook her head. "He's dead."

He stared. "You killed him?"

"I had no choice." She looked down. "He had seen too much. He was interfering with our duties. But it's my fault, really. I should've never let the situation get this bad. Fuck." She pounded her palm with her fist.

* * *

Hanley was tired of driving the speedboat in big circles. He checked his watch. Noon was just two minutes away, and he had an awful, helpless feeling. He kept hoping Marina would call and tell him a brilliant plan, but his phone had remained silent.

"Look!" Katie pointed to the west.

Hanley shielded his eyes with his hand and looked out at the ocean. Three red tugboats were coming towards him, side-by-side. They were dragging giant, white, cylindrical tanks which looked made for propane. Nozzles mounted on top of the tanks were spewing white mist. As the tugboats came closer, Hanley saw the crew wearing gasmasks.

"Shit!" he yelled. "They're gassing the whole area."

He turned the speedboat towards the nearest tugboat and pushed the throttle to full. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he had to do something.

A change in the breeze carried the gas towards him. He suddenly felt very warm and sleepy. He became so disoriented, he completely forgot what he was doing. He drove right past the tugboat and didn't care.

Chapter Eleven

Marina clenched her fists in frustration and almost injured herself with her own fingernails.

The Warriors of Dagda were in frantic motion, and they were obviously powering up the hardware needed for the angel illusion. She heard a big diesel generator start. A piece of equipment with a large number of tubes and wires was dragged out onto the dirt. Some men put on dark sunglasses.

Marina wanted to run down the hill and fight them, but that was suicide. Armed men were looking in all directions for trouble. As soon as she stepped out of the shadows, she would be shot. She only had a vest under her shirt for protection.

Suddenly, the Bay lit up. Rippling white light danced across the waters as far as she could see. Glowing angels flew higher in the air, and Marina had to admit the effect was breathtaking. The electrical generator was straining to provide enough power. The thing with tubes and wires was red hot in places, and she expected it to burn out soon.

Marina's phone buzzed. She ducked down behind a steel beam and looked at the display. Ipo was calling.

She answered, "What?"

"Trouble, ma'am," he said. "The crowd burst through the police barricade. Thousands are running onto the bridge. As soon as they saw the light, nothing could stop them."

"Damn it!"

"You have to kill the angels quick!"

"OK," Marina said. "I will. Bye."

She looked around again, and her gaze settled on a box of grenades in the back of a truck. Detonating them would stop the illusion, but the explosion would also cause a massacre and bring down the police. The situation would spin completely out of control, and she would have little chance to capture prisoners or gather evidence.

She wasn't sure if she was even allowed to set off an explosion. She still didn't know if an enemy of God was behind this mess. The rules of the Society stated that she had to lay low, but if she did nothing, hundreds or maybe even thousands of innocents would jump off the bridge to their deaths. Her brain had no answer, so she decided to trust her heart.

Marina pulled a FN Five-seven out of her satchel, a handgun known for its extreme accuracy. She also took out a scope and screwed it on.

"You're going to set off the grenades?" Yang said.

Marina smiled at his quick insight. "That's right."

"I don't know if a bullet will do that."

"These have explosive tips." She made sure the scope was tight.

"Maybe I should take the shot, ma'am. I think I'm a better marksman than you. No offense."

"The enemy will hear the gunshot. If you don't set off the grenades with the first bullet, we'll be at the wrong end of a shooting gallery."

He looked down the hill. "I can do it."

Marina already saw bodies dropping off the bridge. They were diving through the angels and hitting the water at lethal velocity. The colorful clothing of the men and women reminded Marina of a rainbow. There was no time for debate.

She handed the gun to Yang. "One perfect shot."

He extended his arms and looked through the scope. His entire body relaxed.

"Feel God's rage," Marina whispered.

"I'm feeling it."

He squeezed the trigger. The gunshot was loud, but the resulting explosion was louder. The entire truck went off like a bomb, and obviously, it contained more munitions than just grenades.

The level of destruction impressed Marina. The men nearest the truck had been shredded, and those further away were merely dead. Some bodies had been tossed violently into the sea.

There were survivors though. The body of the truck had partially contained the explosion, and riot gear had provided protection. About a third of the Warriors staggered to their feet while others lay on the ground, moaning.

Marina realized she was committed now. If it turned out an enemy of God wasn't responsible, she would probably pay the ultimate price for her error. God and the legate didn't forgive commanders who played by their own rules. Marina had to hope her heart hadn't led her astray.

At least the angels were gone. The San Francisco Bay had returned to its original blue-green. People were still jumping off the bridge, but now that the "portal to Heaven" had vanished, she expected the suicides to trickle to a stop.

The surviving Warriors headed for buses parked on a dirt access road. They probably knew as well as Marina that the authorities would arrive shortly in large numbers. It was time to flee.

She called Hanley.

"Ma'am?" he said in a sleepy voice.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Gas..."

"Shake it off!" Marina said. "Drive your speedboat to the north end of the bridge and pick up me and Yang."

"Yes, ma'am." He sounded drunk.

"Hurry!"

"Yes, ma'am."

She put away her phone. She had to hope his training and natural willpower would allow him to overcome the gas.

The buses were leaving, and it seemed safe to step into the light.

Marina skidded down the hill, creating a small landslide in the process. "Come on! Let's grab some evidence while we can."

Yang followed her with the FN Five-seven in hand.

Not all the remaining Warriors were dead. Some badly injured ones hadn't made it to the buses, and as long as they were still alive, they could cause trouble. Marina pulled a Heckler & Koch MP7 out of her satchel and chambered a round. She fired short bursts at a few men who were reaching for their own guns.

Yang watched her back without needing to be told. He started picking off enemies, while she focused on gathering evidence.

Bloody corpses and destroyed equipment were strewn across the rocks. The bodies probably didn't have any identification, so she ignored them and looked in the vehicles instead.

She found one truck with computers on a rack, and she expected the hard drives were full of valuable data. She grabbed a screwdriver from a tool shelf, unscrewed a computer from the rack, and took it.

Marina heard approaching sirens.
Damn it! I need more time!

She ran outside, and the roar of a speedboat made her look to the water. Hanley and Katie were coming to pick her up.

Marina saw flashing police lights coming up the access road.

"Come on!" she yelled at Yang. "It's time to go!"

They ran to the edge of the water. Hanley was at the wheel of the blue speedboat, and he was obviously having trouble with his focus. He bounced off the rocks with almost enough force to punch a hole in the hull.

Marina and Yang waded into the chilly surf up to their waists. After handing the computer to Katie, they pulled themselves into the boat.

Marina took the controls. "You'd better sit down."

Hanley sat heavily in the back of the boat.

She drove off with a high rooster tail in her wake. The speedboat had plenty of power, and she expected to need it. The Coast Guard was prowling the Bay and might come after her.

Marina thought about what had just happened. She had killed some bad guys, had saved some lives, and had collected a bit of evidence, but she still felt disappointment. The big questions were far from answered. She still had no idea who the Goddess was. The motivation behind the elaborate angel illusions was equally mysterious. There was more going on than just convincing people to jump off a bridge.

Marina drove towards San Francisco at full throttle.

* * *

Iris was grinning like she had won the lottery. She was certain she had just seen two members of the Gray Spear Society in action. They had moved and killed quicker than anybody Iris had ever seen.

She had taken a good, long look at the woman with green eyes and red hair in particular. Iris had memorized those eyes and had established a permanent lock. Now she could access them anytime she wanted. Whatever the woman saw, Iris could also see. Her enemy was an unwitting double-agent. It was just a matter of time until Olivia's location was revealed and the Society team was hopelessly compromised. Iris could destroy them at her convenience.

She looked out through the slot in the secret door of her hiding place. Police were flooding into the area where dozens of Warriors had just died. She didn't care much about the deaths. She had never expected the cult to survive the mission, and still having some men left was a bonus.

Iris settled back and closed her eyes. Her consciousness traveled to the woman with red hair. It was time to watch and learn the secret ways of the Gray Spear Society.

* * *

Marina was riding in the back of a van. Hanley was driving, and Ipo, Katie, and Yang were the other passengers.

They were listening to the latest news about the Golden Gate Bridge on the radio. At last count, six hundred fifty people had plunged to their deaths in the cold waters of the Bay. Another hundred or so had died in the stampede onto the bridge including several police officers. It had been a shitty day for a lot of people including Marina. She still felt terrible about killing Joshua Harp. She kept revisiting her decisions and trying to imagine how she could've done a better job.

They were driving south on Interstate 280 towards headquarters. The mess around the bridge had ruined traffic all over the Bay Area. Even though it was the middle of the day, the highway was packed and cars were inching forward. Marina was too depressed to be frustrated by the slow pace.

The van suddenly filled with brilliant white light. She felt the warm, loving presence of the Lord as never before. God was right in her face, and it was no illusion made by lasers and gas. She winced, expecting to be chewed out for her poor performance.

Fly to Chicago immediately,
the Lord commanded in a voice that went straight into her brain.
The greatest battle of the Gray Spear Society will begin soon. You must be there! Meet the entire Society at the Rosemont Tower Hotel and prepare for war.

"But Lord," Marina said, "we're in the middle of..."

Go to the airport now! You have no time to spare.

The white light faded, and God was gone.

After a moment of stunned silence, Marina said, "Did everybody hear that?"

"Yes, ma'am," her
legionnaires
responded in voices filled with awe.

"The Rosemont Tower Hotel is the Chicago headquarters. The situation there must be a hundred times worse than I imagined. The whole Society in one place... incredible. Hanley, take the next exit. We're going to the airport."

"Shouldn't we go home and pack first, ma'am?" Katie said. "We're not exactly prepared for a road trip."

"I think God was pretty damn clear. We'll take whatever we got. Hanley, get off this highway! No time to spare!"

"Yes, ma'am," Hanley said.

Marina took out her phone. "I'd better call headquarters and tell the assistants we won't be home for dinner."

* * *

Iris opened her eyes. What she had just seen had left her stunned and gaping.

A white, unnatural light had filled the van. It was possible the Great Adversary had delivered a message to His minions. Unfortunately, Iris's ability was purely visual, so she hadn't heard any of the conversation. She could read lips, but the only words she had recognized were "road trip."

Iris felt rising panic. Her consciousness had to stay within thirty miles of her body, so if the members of the Society travelled too far, she would lose them. Her clever plan was in trouble.

She looked out from her hiding place. Police detectives, forensic technicians, and FBI agents were still examining the gruesome aftermath of the explosion. They would probably be at it for the rest of the day. The Warriors had left behind many bodies and tons of equipment.

Iris took her phone out of her pocket and called Laurence.

"Hello, ma'am," he answered. "Is everything OK?"

"It was until a moment ago," she said in a low voice. "There is a complication. I need you to get me out of here
now
, but the area is swarming with cops."